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Acquiring the best management talent and aiding those individuals to develop to their fullest potential should be a priority to all corporations no matter how large they are, as one Glasgow SME’s stunning revenue increases through a period of sector consolidation indicate. Learn more.

Staggering growth in the Asian outsourcing market, particularly in the specialized needs of pharmaceutical firms, has Indian companies alerted to the value of training and development across a wide spectrum of skill sets, from practical data entry to knowledge of sophisticated business strategies. Learn more.

An Israeli methodology and company by the same name, Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT), is wowing multinationals with a new corporate brainstorming philosophy which filters out ideas that don’t meet pre-established market potential and feasibility criteria. Learn more.

More corporations are driving organizational change by focusing on customer value based initiatives to increase profitability, thanks to technological advancements in intelligence tools used to develop a customer value based infrastructure. Learn more.

Assertiveness training is offered by Cutesolutions with the release of a CD-Rom and Coffee Cards package that display scenarios to play out while users are guided through the development of skills necessary to constructively maintain their own best interests. Learn more.

Regular soft skills training and evaluation will be vital to hiring and retaining quality workers in the next decade, warns a leading expert who cites a new forecast indicating a worker shortfall that could undermine corporate stability and growth. Learn more.

Measuring our ‘cultural IQ’ is recommended as communities are increasingly multicultural but slow to develop new understanding of how differences can enrich society, further social interaction and increase productivity. Learn more.

The balanced scorecard is a widely deployed but often misunderstood tool of performance management. Not meant to aid in the development of corporate strategy, correctly used, it improves organizational performance by aligning employees’ work and priorities with the corporate vision. Learn more.

Bigger budgets for I.T. training in 2005 have department managers looking for the best possible ROI. Retention of consultants during new application installations is a popular trend that allows for staff training and mentoring while transfer of knowledge and hands-on experience is gained.Learn more.

Surveyresults from a poll conducted by Egypt’s businesstoday.com reveal that employees believe the best company to work for is one without hierarchical structures, borders or ceilings, where they can develop career goals and move up through the ranks without leaving the organization. Learn more.

Reflections from CSTD's Executive Director

Lynn Johnston provides her personal perspective on the Canadian learning and performance landscape.
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Workplace skill improvement is a critical goal for most forward-thinking companies. I am certain that ASTD's initiative in applying and interpreting employee assessments, and planning appropriate learning and performance interventions will prove to be a valuable resource for corporate trainers.

Organizational change is a given in today's work world. Downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, technology upgrades, and process modifications are part and parcel of this change. What sometimes gets overlooked is the human side of managing change. This week's news feed offers some solid strategies for keeping the employee focus on inevitable change.